Friday is Everybody Blog About #BrettKimberlin Day *UPDATED*

Before today, I’d been aware of Brett Kimberlin in only the vaguest possible way, since his name suddenly seemed to be popping on various sites I visit. Since his name didn’t actually ring any bells, I didn’t stop to educate myself about him. This morning, though, I’ve had a crash Kimberlin course and, friends, it’s ugly. It’s also something that requires action from as many people as possible in order to use the sunlight of free speech to bleach out the ugly and costly lies that Kimberlin is propagating against conservative bloggers.

First, a few facts.

Kimberlin is a convicted bomber. He even has a nickname: “The Speedway Bomber.” Back in 1978, he set of a series of eight bombs in Speedway, Indiana, one of which blew the limbs off Vietnam Vet Carl DeLong, who later committed suicide because of his injuries. Kimberlin is also a convicted drug dealer. In 1988, he claimed that he sold drugs to Dan Quayle, but there was nothing to corroborate this claim. Given Kimberlin’s far left politics, it’s reasonable to believe that he was lying for political effect. Incidentally, you won’t be able to discover any of this through Wikipedia — it’s been scrubbed.

Kimberlin, who is out of prison, has now made it his life’s mission to go after conservative bloggers to have had the temerity to mention him online. Michelle Malkin explains:

I have spoken directly with both Patterico and Aaron about their ongoing battles.

The mainstream press, not just the conservative blogosphere, needs to hear and report their stories.

This is a convoluted, ongoing nightmare that combines abuse of the court system, workplace intimidation, serial invasions of privacy, perjury, and harassment of family members. McCain was forced to move with his family out of his house this week, and has just gotten a small taste of what Aaron and Patterico have been enduring over the past year. Aaron and his wife were fired from their jobs after their employer feared the office would be targeted next. Convicted bomber Kimberlin has filed bogus “peace orders” against Aaron, when it is the Walkers who are the victims, not the perpetrators.

And Patterico’s plight will send chills up your spine when he is ready to tell it.

For more information about Kimberlin’s behavior, Lee Stranahan put together a short video:

Kimberlin’s legal actions are not intended to protect himself against unwarranted slander from conservatives. Instead, they are aimed at squelching free — and truthful — speech. His theory is that, if he makes free speech too costly, using a combination of physical threats and legal costs, people will stop speaking. He’s not alone in this belief, since he’s managed to fund his lawsuits with help from various far-left groups that are also deeply committed to ensuring that America’s First Amendment protections are reserved only for pre-approved Leftist speech.

Lee Stranahan offers the best (indeed, the only) way to respond to someone who relentlessly abuses the Free Speech rights America grants — MORE SPEECH:

This is no war of words; Kimberlin is a serial litigator who has filed over 100 lawsuits by his own account and he takes people to court, claiming they are harassing him. He calls their employers. I stand with all these people, some of whom are my friends. I’m launching a new effort on my own that I hope will help.

The only effective way to fight Brett Kimberlin is for as many people to research and write about him as possible.

So I’m declaring this Friday, May 25th as Everybody Blog About Brett Kimberlin Day.

Here’s what you do to take part…

Research Brett Kimberlin on your own. Don’t trust secondary sources; look for the orginal articles articles published about him, too.

On Friday, May 25th — write an honest, factually accurate post about what you learned and what your OPINION is. Brett may try and sue you, so be accurate, factual and separate fact from opinion.

The post doesn’t have to be long — ANYTHING helps.

After you post, Tweet, share, whatever — get the post out there.

As you can see, I’m doing my part right now, by getting the May 25 ball rolling. Indeed, the ball is already rolling, with sufficient numbers of people writing on this subject for Kimberlin’s list of assigned targets to have grown exponentially. Eventually, there’ll just be too many targets and, with luck, this guy will quietly slink away.

On May 25, of course, I’ll write again about Kimberlin. Can you do something to help out too?

This enthusiastic participation, from bloggers (and cartoonists) whom you like and respect is a reminder that this is important. By creating an impossible broad target for Kimberlin and his ilk, we use speech to neutralize entirely his efforts to destroy speech. It’s the wonderful opposite of a boycott.

If he is a serial litigator, who is paying his attorney fees? The Tides Foundation? I doubt that all of his attorneys take his cases on a contingency basis. Serial litigation is a VERY expensive habit. I know of two individuals who, each having sued a number of times, have the litigation Jones- just not as severe as Kimberlin, Each of them ended up with huge financial losses.

One individual lost about $200,000 in attorney fees- his own attorney fees plus the fees the courts awarded the defendants. Which could have been a lot higher, but on the eve of second trial, he gave up with prejudice. [With prejudice- may not sue on the same issue ever again. At least that is my non-attorney interpretation.]

People who resort to litigation at the drop of a hat- or a dollar- are rather unpleasant people, based on the two I have known. They are best seen, like that proverbial town in a C&W song, out of a rear view mirror. When I stop to count my blessings, one of my blessings is that I have not spoken with the above in several years, and am not likely to do so in the future. In these examples, absence makes the heart relieved, not fonder.